nielsen ratings
(fast national numbers for saturday, october 16, 2010)

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks last night:

FOX (5.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) pulled out a victory on Saturday with the start of its "NLCS, Game 1" (5.75 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 1.7, #1) coverage.

Second place then went to ABC (5.12 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2) with its presentation of "Bank of America 500 at Charlotte" (5.12 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.4, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.06 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #3) with repeats of "CSI: NY" (4.45 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 0.9, #6), "The Mentalist" (5.29 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.0, #5) and a new "48 Hours Mystery" (5.44 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #4).

And finally, the Saturday premiere of "Outlaw" (3.54 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.6, #8) lead into repeats of "Law & Order: Los Angeles" (3.46 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (4.76 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) on NBC (3.92 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4).

Here are the highlights of the eight ad-sustained programs that aired in primetime on the broadcast networks one year ago (10/17/09):

FOX (9.07 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1) rolled over the competition on Saturday thanks to its coverage of the "NLCS, Game 2" (9.07 million viewers, #1; adults 18-49: 2.8, #1).

The silver then went to ABC (5.12 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2) with its coverage of the "NASCAR Sprint Cup Series" (5.12 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 1.5, #2).

Next up was CBS (5.40 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.1, #3) with repeats of "NCIS" (5.03 million viewers, #6; adults 18-49: 1.0, #6), "CSI: Miami" (5.09 million viewers, #5; adults 18-49: 1.1, #5) and "48 Hours Mystery" (6.09 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3).

And finally, rounding out the night were repeats of "Mercy" (2.44 million viewers, #8; adults 18-49: 0.7, #8), "Trauma" (3.10 million viewers, #7; adults 18-49: 0.8, #7) and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (5.23 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.4, #T3) on NBC (3.59 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.9, #4).

Source: Nielsen Media Research